How A Star Falls
by LaLaLux
Summary: "Falling in love, that's how a star falls." Lux was infatuated, she couldn't deny that. How could she not be? His lop-sided grin, his perfectly disheveled hair, his bright blue eyes always searching for a new adventure, every scar on his body was flawless to her. But she had duties. Duties she could not neglect, for the sake of her sisters and of the future.
1. Cluster

"Ugh, what even is this?" Jinx gives out a disgusted moan as she picks up a spoon of poridge. She drops it back into the bowl and harshly pushes it away, as if she would die just by looking at it again.

"Jinx!" Rushing to stop the bowl from toppling off the table, Lux releases an exasperated sigh and shoots Jinx a disapproving frown. She simply shrugs and returns to browsing on her cellphone. Lux rolls her eyes as she sits up, poridge in hand.

"I'm sure they have something else to around here eat... Just give me a minute to find something." the pink-haired girl searches the cafeteria and beams as her eyes land on a vending machine.

She walks up to it gingerly and scans its content, eager to eat something other than the nasty poridge. Jinx wasn't a picky eater, and honestly, Lux had to agree with her teammate. The food theu served this morning was awful. Satisfied, Lux punches in the digits for a pack of brownies and inserts the money. A few seconds later nothing has seemed to come out from the compartment below.

"What?? Why isn't it working?"

She fidgets with the buttons a bit more and rechecks the compartment. Entering and re-entering the code. Frustrated, she gives the machine a soft kick.

"Damn..."

An all too familiar chuckle makes Lux jump and freeze in place. She turns and sees Ezreal leaning against the wall next to the vending machine. Her body stiffens and her breath catches in her throat. His hair is perfectly messy like always, clad in his usual attire, he looks charming and boyish yet theres a certain maturity about him.

"Maybe you should've read the sign before feeding it your cash" he gives her a small smile and nods towards a neatly written sign that reads 'OUT OF ORDER'.

Lux's cheecks flush red as she realizes her mistakes. Embarrassed by her childish fit, she turns her attention to the ground.

Gathering her courage she mutters, "O-Oh, sorry I guess I didn't notice that." She laughs nervously and raises her head to face him. To her relief he laughs too.

He confidently walks past her and up to the vending machine.

"But you said it was-" he stops her mid-sentence and pulls out a ring of keys from his pocket. Then picks one out labelled 'Snax' and opens up the vending machine door. Ezreal picks out 2 brownie packs and hands her both.

"Let's just say it's a little gift from one guardian to another." The boy winks at her making her face heat up once again.

"Don't tell Ahri about this or she'll kill me." he grins at her deviously and pockets a cookie from the vending machine, raising a finger to his lips to shush her.

Lux lets a laugh escape her lips, "I dunno... seeing Ahri scold you for stealing snacks might just be worth my while."

He feigns a hurt gasp and holds his hand against his chest. "I can't believe you, I thought we had something special!"

As he laughs at his own act, her heart skips a beat. _He thinks we have something special? What? No! He was probably just joking... or flirting? Why would I think we had anything special anyways? He's probably like this with all the girls he meets! Besides I barely know him._

The sound of Ezreal's voice once again startles her out of her mental debate.

"I should probably get going before I get another scolding about responsibilities or punctuality."

She giggles then says, "You probably get scolded about how to always be fashionable too I bet?" Lux eyes his particularly sparkly emblem pin of a star on his blue and white jersey jacket. Her eyes shift back to his face with an amused grin.

"That was Ahri's idea." he puts his hands up defensively. Their exchange is cut short by the sound of a walkie-talkie buzzing from behind Ezreal's waist.

"Ezreal? You done with your rounds yet?"

"Yeah, just finishing up!-" he covers the speaker with his hand and speaks to Lux, "That's my cue, see you later okay?"

Before Lux can respond he's speed walking out the door of the cafeteria. She silently waves at his turned back and sighs, "Yeah... See you later"

Lux plopped down at their table with a dazed smile painted on her face. Jinx raises a disturbed eyebrow but immediately loses interest at the sight of brownies. Breaking out of her daze, Lux notices Jinx wrestling the pack out of her hand. She pushes Jinx away and raises the brownie pack up high.

"We are going to share these okay?" She slides one pack towards Poppy, Lulu, and Jinx; and one towards Janna and herself. "And try not to finish them all in one sitting, we might get hungry during the activities for today."

The trio devour most of the pack in seconds while Lux and Janna take meager bites to save the rest for later. Satisfied, Jinx returns to playing a shooting game on her phone as Poppy helps Lulu pick out colors for her next drawing.

"So how was your meeting with the blue one, Ezreal was it?" The usually quiet Janna gives Lux an all-too-knowing smile.

"W-what? You saw that?" She panicks and is quick to hide the blush that will surely be coming next. Janna hums in response, still awaiting her answer.

"He just helped me get the brownies from the vending machine, that's all."

"I see... do you enjoy his company? You seem to get very happy whenever you speak to him."

Just as Lux was about to retaliate, Lulu bounces in between them loudly announcing, "One of the new stars is coming!" The group exchange confused looks and not a moment too soon a loud 'THUD' catches their attention from the end of the table. Syndra had dropped her large pile of papers and was now looking down upon the cluster of star guardians.

"Ahri would like to speak to you all, now."

Simply the mention of Ahri's name was enough to get them going, but the tone of Syndra's voice just about kicked them out of their seats. So here they were, following Syndra towards the council hall. The purple-haired maiden never seemed to lose her perfect posture, even with the large stack of who knows what dragging her down.

Lux outstretches her arms towards Syndra, "I could help you carry those if you'd like, it seems pretty heavy." She gives her an optimistic smile as the latter eyes her hands suspiciously.

Syndra turns away, harshly rejecting the girl without a word. Feeling awkward, Lux drops her hands and fidgets with her fingers. She averts her eyes to the canopy of leaves above their heads. _Geez, I was just trying to help, the least she could've done was say 'No thanks'._

"We're here." Syndra's voice interrupts the silence as the group stumble upon a fairly large log cabin with a perfectly written 'Authorized Personnel Only' sign on the door.

With a key in one hand and a stack of papers in the other, she unlocks the door and ushers the others in before her. Down the hall loud voices seem to be conversing about something in the meeting room.

"Head on down, tell Ahri I'll join you all later." She hurriedly flees towards another room, careful not to drop any papers. The rest of the group continue towards the meeting room with worried looks as they realize the voices inside are actually arguing. As they walk in the picture becomes clear. Ezreal and Ahri are having a heated quarrel as Soraka paces worriedly near them. Miss Fortune could care less as she blows chewing gum bubbles and daydreams.

"-because it's dangerous, Ezreal! I am not going to let you head down there by yourself!"

"But Soraka said it herself, the rift hasn't even opened yet, and besides, it's tiny! I can handle it, why can't you just trust me Ahri!?"

"You know exactly why I can't trust you. You're going to go do something stupid again and get yourself hurt, as your leader it's my job to- Oh.." Ahri clears her throat as she notices the other group enter.

Lux is the first to speak up as the cluster of guardians exchange glances.

"Um, you called us here?


	2. Burst

"We speculate that two rifts will open within the week. One here and one here-" Ahri pauses to circle 2 points on her map, "The starfall must have gained the attraction of whatevers down there since theres been so much void activity recently. The one opposite of the lake is significantly smaller than the other but is expected to open sooner, which is why I didn't want this idiot checking it out by himself." Ezreal and Ahri both glare at each other.

"Even if it's going to open sooner I can handle a few bugs. I'm not a child y'know"

Ahri scoffs at his statement, "And what if a few turns into an entire herd? You'll easily get overrun by yourself which is exactly the reason I didn't want-"

"I'll go with him"

The entire room freezes to stare at Lux. Maybe cutting off Ahri was a bad decision. Choking down the lump in her throat she continues, more careful with her words this time. "I-I mean if you'd allow us to, it's totally your decision." She could visibly see Ahri try to swallow down her anger. The fierce leader wasn't used to being interrupted, and she was obviously upset judging by the way her jaw clenched.

"You know what, fine go ahead. Ez and Lux you two will be assigned to make rounds by the Lake, everyone else will scout the clearings around the larger rift." Ahri's voice dripped venom as she gave everyone their tasks, "But if you two aren't back by the time we finish I will make sure you are punished accordingly." She folds her map neatly and places it in her pocket, "Rounds start at eventide." The leader flips her peach-toned bangs out of her face and snaps, signalling the end of the meeting.

Ezreal and Lux walked side-by-side towards the lake. The boy still a bit heated from the earlier situation. The aura around them oozing awkwardness. Lux, feeling compelled to do anything to lighten the mood, tries to spark up small talk.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you could handle this rift by yourself." Being the optimistic person that she is, she gives him an encouraging smile.

Despite his displeasure, he can't help but chuckle at her comment. "Thanks for helping me out earlier, and for believeing in me even when my own leader doesn't."

"That's what friends are for, right?"

"You consider us friends already?"

"Well, yeah! Don't you?" Lux asked, clearly disappointed at his reaction.

Ezreal answers defensively, "No, no! I do! It's just, we've never really talked about it I guess."

Relieved, she questions, "Do we need to hold a ceremony to confirm our friendship?" They both laugh simultaneously at the joke.

Lux stops in her tracks and holds up her hand in a pledge.

"I, Luxanna, hereby deem Ezreal, my friend for as long as I shall live." She giggles and motions for him to do the same.

"I, Ezreal, also deem Luxanna my friend, till death do us part." He gives her a pleasant bow and smirks.

"Geez, you make it seem like we're getting married!" Playfully pushing his shoulder, she hides her redding cheeks from him.

He laughs and replies, "Who knows, maybe someday we'll be exchanging vows at our wedding."

The air around them grows stiff once more. Lux notices Ezreal stroking a scar on his palm with his thumb. It ran from under his index finger all the way towards his wrist.

"How'd you get it?... The scar I mean."

He looks away and smiles at the sky as if reminiscing about a memory she was certainly not a part of.

"I was helping Soraka get her cat down from a tree but I slipped and got cut on the way down."

The pair approach the lake just a few minutes before sundown. Ezreal takes a seat on the warm sand and pats the spot next to him, urging Lux to sit before continuing his story.

"Soraka was trying to convince Ahri to let her heal me, but she insisted that I should learn my lesson the hard way." He scoffs at the reminder on his hand. "She thinks my scars are all signs of me being an idiot."

Lux takes his hand and begins tracing the line of his scar. Her skin against his tickled him but gave him a sense of comfort, as if it felt right. "You're not an idiot you know? And I think your scars are-" She hesitates unsure if she should finish her sentence. Biting her lip she looks at him anxiously like she was asking if he wanted her to continue.

"Are what?"

"-attractive."

Ezreal bursts out laughing then yelps in pain as she pinches his hand.

"Hey! what was that for?" He is still clearly amused by the sound of his voice. Instead of answering she sticks out her tongue and hits him playfully.

"Let's just finish our rounds so we don't put Ahri in a bad mood, you dummy."

Ezreal is the first to stand up, offering her a hand. Lux can feel her heart pound in her chest as he helps her up. Just this simple gesture was enough to make her swoon and buckle at the knees. The warmth of his fingers making contact with hers made her want to jump into his arms, and be protected from the cold summer breeze. His signature lop-sided grin sent shivers down her spine._ Or maybe it was just the wind_, she thought silently.

Together, they make their way around the lake, taking note of their surroundings despite their previous banter. They take turns giving each other shy glances from time to time. It's not long before they come across a large mess.

Pieces of trash were strewn along the blades of green grass, a nearby trashbin overturned. A kind of purple substance powdered the ground leaving a trail towards the treeline. To their relief the ground had no cracks or fissures and there was no sign of a rift being opened.

"What... happened?" Lux bent down and dabbed a bit of the purple powder onto her finger, looking at Ezreal questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the trees where the path lead. _I guess he's never seen anything like this either._

"Sit tight, I'm gunna go check where this path leads." Without a second thought, he treads towards the forest but is startled by a hand grabbing his wrist.

"You're going to leave me alone here? To find whatever did this by yourself?? No way! I'm coming with you."

"Relax starlight, I'm more than capable to fight off a spacebug or two." He winks at her and attempts to pull his hand free, to no avail. Ezreal arches his eyebrows at her insistance and sighs.

She shifts her weight anxiously and slides her hand down from his wrist to his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"It's better if we go together." The setting sun shines on them making her eyes glint with hopefulness. Giving in to her request, he smiles understandingly and leads her down the path, neither of them letting go of their hands.

It takes less than 5 minutes to get to the end of the purple trail. Awaiting them though was a dead voidling insect, its insides burst open and spilling onto the ground beside it. It's shell covered in a plasma similarly colored to the purple powder. Lux scrunches up her nose as the smell hits her in a large weft of what seems like rotting death, "Ew, that smell is horrible."

Her displeasure is only multiplied when Ezreal bends down to touch the plasma on the outside of the shell. She can't help but notice the curious look plastered on his face. How is he so into this, especially with this smell!?

"Seems like the plasma had burned through the shell and made it burst open from the inside." He regains composure as he finishes his thorough investigation.

"But where did the plasma come from?"

"The same source as the powder I presume. But this is definitely not something I've seen before, at least not from the monsters I've fought." It was true. The plasma didn't look like whatever gross stuff came from the void creatures they were used to facing. It was less organic, much darker, and seemed to be a lot more powerful.

Shaking the residue off his hands, he starts the tread back to the others. "Come on, we need to tell the others about what we found." The grinning boy beckons Lux to follow as he makes his way back the way they came.


End file.
